#SMALL VS BIG APERTURE HOW TO#

You can learn more about ND filters in our ND buyer’s guide. The shallow depth of field in the photo to the right below wouldn’t have been possible without an ND filter limiting the amount of light entering the lens. This allows you to use wide apertures or long shutter speeds in bright light without the overexposure. ND filters are dark filters you place on the front of your lens to limit the amount of light entering your lens. With a massive aperture like f/1 or f/1.2 we automatically assume quality. We are conditioned to constantly be chasing huge apertures. If you need to shoot in bright light, another option is to use a Neutral Density filter, often referred to as an ND filter. Small apertures (or big f-numbers) have a bad name.

One option is to relocate to a place where that isn’t as naturally light, so you can widen the aperture more than in bright daylight.

Having said that, there are a few ways around overexposing your image. Be careful to avoid widening the aperture too much and creating an overly bright image. If adjusting aperture to achieve a shallower depth of field, you will also be opening the lens to allow more light to pass through and reach the sensor. Variable aperture lenses are generally less expensive for this reason. If you ever see a variable aperture listing in a lens name such as, Canon 18-55mm f/4-5.6, this indicates that the lens will shoot at f/4 at the shorter end of the focal length (18mm) and f/5.6 at the longer end of the focal length (55mm). In this instance, the f/1.8 aperture is referring to a fixed aperture, which may sound like it can only operate at one aperture, but actually means the aperture can function independently of the lens focal length and you’ll be able to shoot with the entire range of apertures all the way up to f/22 and beyond. The fraction measurement is the same reason that f/4 is a bigger aperture than f/8… But how? f/8 is twice as big as f/4! If you’re splitting a pizza with your friends, would you rather ¼ (25%) or ⅛ (12.5%)?Īperture plays such an important role in lens quality and creative capability that lens manufacturers include the maximum aperture in the lens name i.e.

Why? Because the f/2 value is to be read as the fraction, 1/2. The visual effect of differences between smaller. If you’re shooting on a 50mm lens with your aperture set to f/2, how wide is your aperture opening in millimetres? The answer: 25mm (or close to an inch). Lenses also have a minimum aperture, but as I mentioned before, its not really that important to most people. Here’s where it gets a little complicated, so let’s have a quick maths pop quiz. You’ve probably noticed the little ‘f’ on your camera’s display or in the viewfinder? It stands for fraction, because aperture is measured as a fraction of the focal length of your lens.

#SMALL VS BIG APERTURE HOW TO#

To Understand Aperture, You Need to Know About F-Stopsīefore we go any further, we should quickly talk about what f-stops or f-numbers look like on your camera’s display and how to adjust aperture in camera.Īperture is often referred to as wide or small, but it’s more technically referred to as f-stops or f-numbers.

Small vs big aperture